Chapter 31
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Chapter 31: Making Talismans in the Cell
“Ugh, ugh, ugh…”
“It hurts! That poisonous woman is truly ruthless! My face is a mess, and her heart has turned dark. You claim to be poisoned, so why not let others taste a bit too? Cough, cough, just wait. I won’t rest until I destroy two or three dozen of your artifacts; otherwise, my hatred won’t be resolved,” Li Hui mumbled to distract himself, his body covered in wounds.
It was dire; the other side had no intention of letting him live.
For the first time, Li Hui realized the cruelty of the cultivation world. He had only heard about it before, and despite having a rough idea, nothing compared to experiencing it firsthand. Death lingered nearby; a light touch would surely lead to "satisfaction."
“Alas! In this life, perishing is the norm; only surviving is abnormal.” Li Hui took a moment to catch his breath, surveying the water prison.
Surrounded by stone walls, the bottom resembled a muddy pond, but from the sensation underfoot, he could tell the water was also on stone.
Directly across from him stood a massive iron door, the only exit. The door was reinforced with iron spikes, which sometimes sparked with electric flashes, just enough to illuminate the water prison.
The water was not deep but reached up to his navel; however, it was filthy, mixed with a foul blood scent.
Li Hui paddled around the water prison, taking about two hundred steps or so, and noticed the water grew shallower as he approached the door, sloping downward into deeper water.
“Looks like I was just tossed in, rolling down the slope, and I choked on water before waking up. Unfortunately, the two talismans are in the bag of treasures; otherwise, with the power of the Earth Yellow Dust Storm Blade, I could have sliced the stone wall open to create an escape route.”
“I don’t know when that poisonous woman will come. Once she finds out I’ve freed myself from the thorns, escaping will become even harder.”
“So I must act quickly and prepare to break out at once.”
Li Hui approached the door, where the water barely covered his feet.
He crouched down and slowly felt around his shoe. There was a clever little mechanism, a creation by Uncle Sun from Shanghe Village, as it was difficult to detect hiding spots within his shoes.
“Good, good, the items are still here.” Li Hui took out the six-link chain and couldn’t help but remember Brother Cheng, thinking, “We’re both of royal blood, yet the disparity is staggering. According to Zhang Tianhua, that poisonous woman should have come from the Hidden Sky Sect. I wonder where Senior Sister Lian went, along with so many other fellow disciples. Is anyone else like me, stuffing their heads with the scripture hall’s texts, naively charging toward the Hidden Sky Sect’s encirclement…”
After retrieving his belongings, Li Hui’s first action was to heal his wounds.
Such injuries couldn’t be fixed with ordinary herbal medicines, so without hesitation, he grabbed the century-old ginseng and began eating the roots.
To be honest, the taste of this ginseng was awful—both sour and bitter, with just a hint of sweetness afterward. But judging by the age, it was likely closer to one hundred fifty years. The tearing sensation inside him slowly eased, and his vitality gradually increased, helping him resist the poison.
The ginseng couldn’t detoxify but could boost energy, making it suitable for promoting spiritual energy to flow through the meridians. If abnormalities arose in his meridians, they would naturally adjust.
The Spirit Motion stage was essentially about sensing the spiritual energy of the world, drawing it into the body to enhance physical strength. If one reached the Concentrating Spirit stage, they could consciously guide the spiritual energy to circulate through their body’s acupoints. By then, ordinary toxins couldn’t harm the body. It wouldn’t be so complicated.
After consuming half of the ginseng, he finally felt his vitality surge, and the lost spiritual energy began to return. Many of his wounds started to ooze pus, and his life force strengthened.
“The remaining half of this ginseng can’t retain its medicinal potency. I’ll make the Revitalizing Ginseng and Deer Antler Pills now! It’s better than dying while regretting not finishing the ginseng.”
Li Hui bit into the ginseng, treating it like a carrot. Although this “carrot” was somewhat shriveled, the generated vitality was remarkable, causing many of his wounds to start closing. Golden light patterns began to appear on his arms, and he could see the enhanced impact of his Dragon Claw fingertips.
After finishing the entire ginseng, Li Hui sat down in the murky water, taking out his talisman brush, Blood Ink, and Empty Embroidered Talismans.
The Empty Embroidered Talismans were a high-grade talisman paper, not only increasing the success rate of talisman-making but also elevating the quality of the talismans.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have any blank talisman paper left. If I want to get out, I can’t be unprepared. I have to find a way to take a chance. The Record of the Four Gods and Demons contains fifty-six runes divided into four sets, with each set ranging from simple to complex, totaling fourteen varieties for reconnaissance, defense, offense, and blood talismans.”
“I’ll give it a shot; my life is on the line. Let’s practice with these Empty Embroidered Talismans.” Li Hui felt his heartbeat quicken; these Empty Embroidered Talismans were precious items worth countless silver money symbols, yet he was about to waste them.
“Alright, first, I’ll draw the Spirit Sense Talisman, which can extend my perception for a hundred zhang to pinpoint the location of people and animals.”
Without hesitation, Li Hui took out the inkstone to grind ink. He soaked the talisman brush in fresh red ink, filled with passion as he let the brush dance like a dragon, using his spiritual energy to coordinate the runes, hoping for immediate success.
Unfortunately, nothing happened when he finished the stroke; the talisman paper didn’t absorb any spiritual energy, proving that this Empty Embroidered Talisman was ruined.
“Again! I will succeed; I must succeed.” Li Hui gathered his courage, calming his mind, recalling the symbol for the Spirit Sense Talisman from the Record of the Four Gods and Demons. He dipped the brush in ink and wrote again.
After finishing the stroke, the Empty Embroidered Talisman stirred with ripples.
Li Hui flipped the talisman paper over and noticed a crease forming, gradually seeping to the other side, as if trying to support the symbol he had just drawn.
“It worked! Too bad there’s only one mark. According to the Record of the Four Gods and Demons, the highest can reach four marks, perceiving all life within a thousand zhang. This one mark Spirit Sense Talisman can only extend to a hundred fifty zhang and can only expand in one direction.”
Blood Ink, Empty Embroidered Talismans, and the specialized talisman brush came together, playing a huge role in helping Li Hui find his footing.
After drawing eighteen one-mark Spirit Sense Talismans, he finally managed to create his first two-mark Spirit Sense Talisman.
This success was achieved under the condition that the Empty Embroidered Talismans could enhance the talisman’s quality; otherwise, it would take hundreds of attempts to succeed, and ordinary talisman paper also required a cost. To achieve success, the investment was immense.
“Attack-type talisman: Golden Sword Talisman.”
“Defensive talisman: Golden Bell Talisman.”
“And one for increasing explosive force: Blood Ignition Talisman.”
Li Hui energetically brushed the ink, continuously consuming talisman paper, resting whenever he felt tired. Two hours later, he had exhausted a total of two hundred thirty-seven Empty Embroidered Talismans.
